Harry's New Nikes and The Organic Grill

Friday, May 27, I finally got Harry his birthday present. His birthday was last Saturday May 21.  He had mentioned that he need to get new everyday walking shoes, and I figured this would be an easy gift since I frequently shop online at 6PM and had even found and ordered shoes for Herb successfully from 6PM.com including a pair of  Made in the USA and water resistant New Balance crosstrainers he wanted. But Harry wasn't sure of his size and really wanted to try a number of styles.  Brick and mortar shopping was going to be challenge with his work schedule.  Most of the places he was familiar with and within walking distance of work close at 7pm. and he often gets last minute customers waking in to make purchases from the Vitamin Closet. Also the New Balance store on West 42nd Street that Herb frequented has long been closed and the closest New Balance store is in White Plains.  But Nike makes great atheletic shoes and the NikeTown is on the East Side at 57th off Fifth and a quick subway ride from Gary Null's and stays open on till 8pm.  So Friday evening we headed down to NikeTown and Harry found a pair a water repellent Nike Air Pegasus Trail Runners he liked and they were on sale (lucky me!) and after a little bit of frustration since about "his size" not being available it turned out he's a 9 1/2 and they had his size in both colors.  So Harry chucked his old pair and walked out on  happy feet, comfortable, well-supported, and stylish with a broad smile on his face wearing his new Nikes.

After shopping, we heading down to the East Village near St. Marks to The Organic Grill at 123 First Avenue.  Right away I liked it when I walked in.  The deserts are displayed prominently in a glass case below the counter.  I immediately spotted a huge jar of blondie and chocolate lavender macaroons and Harry spotted what looked to be some kind of berry topped "cheese cake".  When we sat down at one of the polished wooden tables  I saw that many of the chairs still have the trademark horseshoes fastened to their backs. 

THE ORGANIC GRILL
123 First Ave (btwn 7st. & St.Marks Place)
New York, NY 10003
Daily 12:00pm-10:00pm
Tel: (212) 477-7177
Fax: (212) 477-4442
http://www.theorganicgrill.com/
American Express, Cash, Mastercard, Visa

For starters we shared their guacomole and baked corn chips.  Harry immediately commented on the fresh celantro used in the guacomole and how great it is when chefs make that extra effort to use fresh  instead of dried herbs.   I reminisced about the herb and tomato garden that I used to keep on my fire escape within easy reach of the kitchen window.  I just put out some potted flowering plants -- hot pink hydragenas and mums and an overflowing crimson flowering hibiscus -- out in front yard along with the old dark green metal garden bench in my efforts to resume the cottage-style garden Herb and I once kept.  But I haven't started up the herb garden as of yet though I do have a new lavendar plant on my kitchen windowsill. We had kept several varieties of mint in abundance as well as catnip, sage, basil, oregano, lemon verbana, thyme,
dill and and lavender.   A delight for us in the kitchen and just to snack on while gardening and also for the visiting birds who often left with a sprig of this and that in their beaks.  Herb kept a  pair of little snippers handy on a string for anyone who happened by.

Happy B-Day to Coach Tony and Angelica Kitchen

Yesterday, May 25th, 2011 was the 50th birthday of  Harry's running coach, Tony Ruiz, and Harry's elite running club, The Central Park Track Club, held a suprise birthday party for Tony at the eastside's Black Finn pub. Tony has been head coach of the club since1997 and prior he was the assistance coach from 1991.  The club, current and past members, celebrated Tony's birthday with good cheer, lively conversation and a white-frosted red velvet birthday cake.  Pretty amazing to see all these good looking, athletic, slim people, of all ages and backgrounds, enjoying themselves!  This club really knows how to party and it's easy to see why Harry loves to hang out with them. 

Harry, who loves to run as well as party, attends regular track practice with Tony and his running mates at the East 6th Street Track on Tuesday and Thursday evenings after work. He was encouraging me all evening to start running again and join him at track on Sunday mornings but I'm still a little bit hesitant having just resumed regular workouts after a very long absence this past March after Herb died but I'm willing to reconsider running again this fall.  Right now, I am grounding myself with yoga classes, gym workouts and swimming laps in the pool at NYHRC.   I've even showed Harry two yoga poses to improve his stance and open up his lungs to help him with his running.  I'm hoping he'll join me at my yoga classes soon.  We  found a couple of yoga fans among the member of his club at the party and maybe he'll follow their lead and try some yoga before he runs.

After schmoozing at  party, (unfortunately we couldn't eat Tony's birthday cake...wheat flour, dairy ingredients and all that sugar!), Harry and I took the nearby number 6 train and headed downtown to the East Village to Angelica Kitchen at 300 East 12th just east of 2nd Avenue for late night sustenance and desert.   After a quick study of their menu, we settled on a big bowl each of the soup de jour which was Navy Bean, one of my favorite soups, and ordered some starters to share, Angelica Pickle Plate and Kimchee. Gotta have those probiotics!  And of course we could not pass up on guzzling down their famous Mu 16 Tea which contains 16 tasty and beneficial ingredients including licorice, ginger, camomille and ginseng.  Angelica also has a one-free-refill policy for their tea so we took advantage and had our 2nd mugs of Mu 16 with desert.  Harry had the Blueberry Walnut Cake made with spelt and agave and I had Rhubarb Kanten Parfait with almond cream (wheat  free and sweetend with agave). 

I haven't dined at Angelica since the late 70's and the two things I remember the most from those early days (the restaurant opened in 1976) are the Mu tea which at that time was selfserve, and side-by-side with distilled water, and those stick-to-your-gut yummy pot luck dragon bowls meals. The restaurant and its fare is definitely more elegant and varied now though they do maintain one of the old community tables and have kept the mu tea and the dragon bowls on the menu.  And they still "happily accept only cash." 

Angelica Kitchen
300 East 12th Street
New York, NY 10003
212.228.2909
http://www.angelicakitchen.com/

Roxy gives Angelica Kitchen an interim 3-carrot rating

The Mu tea was  a big hit with Harry and I loved the Navy Bean soup.  Harry likes his Kimchee on the hotter side and I recommended a trip to little Korea to get a more authentic and hotter version.  We might also take a crack at making our own. Harry would like to try their Norimaki the next time and I of course want to check out the dragon bowl meals I remember so well.  The starters are very small portions but the deserts are magnificantly sized and Harry got to finish my rhubarb parfait after gobbling up his walnut cake.  Harry would like Angelica to offer raw (live food) deserts.

In fairness to the restaurant, we're going to reserve our final ratings till after we have a chance to come back and try their entrees.

Baby Pigeons Outside Gary Null's Anti Aging Center

Baby Pigeons Outside Gary Null's Anti Aging Center

My friend and fellow writer Harry Bentivegna Lichtenstein manages Gary Null's Upper East Side Anti Aging Center at 307 East 92nd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues near Zebu Grill.  One day at work he discovered that  two pigeons had transformed one of the window boxes outside the center into their nest and were now taking turns sitting on a pair of eggs.  Here are the baby pigeons several weeks later after hatching.  When the baby pigeons first hatched they had all yellow down-like feathers and looked like little Easter chicks. These yellow feathers were eventually replaced by the black, white and grey feathers you see pictured here.  If you look carefully you will still see some of the yellow down remaining on their heads and necks. 

We suspect that they are the first offspring of the parent birds as there were no brother or sister pigeons observed helping at the nest.   The babies are now flying.  Harry reported that their parents stopped feeding them, but stayed in the visible vicinity of the nest for several days, to get the babies to fly.  The baby birds would perch on the window box and flap their wings but seemed to be afraid to fly.  Eventually, after several days, to get to their parents and be fed, they took to the air for their first flight to their waiting parents.

After coaxing the little baby birds to fly for food, once again the parents stopped feeding the babies after just a few days and now the babies are pecking for food on their own.  Harry reports that until the babies adjusted to feeding themselves they were chasing their parents and fiercely flapping their wings trying to latch on to their parents beaks to get food.

The members of Gary Null's support group who were meeting at the center twice a month had become fascinated by the little pigeons and their progress often coming early to peak through the blinds at the window box. And of course everyone asks Harry for updates.  The group just completed their last session and in time to see the babies flying.  Now it's time for everyone, human and pigeon, to take off and fly -- and eat -- solo. Just like the little pigeons we're all afraid to try something new and we need to take that first leap of faith to survive.